AbouttheTutorial
JavaScript is a lightweight, interpreted programming language. It is designed for
creating network-centric applications. It is complimentary to and integrated with
Java. JavaScript is very easy to implement because it is integrated with HTML. It
is open and cross-platform.
Audience
This tutorial has been prepared for JavaScript beginners to help them understand
the basic functionality of JavaScript to build dynamic web pages and web
applications.
Prerequisites
For this tutorial, it is assumed that the reader have a prior knowledge of HTML
coding. It would help if the reader had some prior exposure to object-oriented
programming concepts and a general idea on creating online applications.
Copyright andDisclaimer
Copyright 2015 by Tutorials Point (I) Pvt. Ltd.
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Point (I) Pvt. Ltd. The user of this e-book is prohibited to reuse, retain, copy,
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manner without written consent of the publisher.
We strive to update the contents of our website and tutorials as timely and as
precisely as possible, however, the contents may contain inaccuracies or errors.
Tutorials Point (I) Pvt. Ltd. provides no guarantee regarding the accuracy,
timeliness or completeness of our website or its contents including this tutorial. If
you discover any errors on our website or in this tutorial, please notify us at
contact@tutorialspoint.com
1
TableofContents
About the Tutorial
.............................................................................................................................................
Audience..................................................................................................................................................
......... i
Prerequisites............................................................................................................................................
......... i
Copyright and Disclaimer
................................................................................................................................. i
Table of Contents
............................................................................................................................................ ii
PART 1: JAVASCRIPT BASICS........................................................................................................1
1. JAVASCRIPT – Overview
............................................................................................................................2
What is
JavaScript?.......................................................................................................................................... 2
Client-Side
JavaScript.......................................................................................................................................2
Advantages of JavaScript
................................................................................................................................. 3
Limitations of
JavaScript.................................................................................................................................. 3
JavaScript Development
Tools.........................................................................................................................3
Where is JavaScript Today?
.............................................................................................................................4
2. JAVASCRIPT – Syntax
................................................................................................................................5
Your First JavaScript Code
............................................................................................................................... 5
Whitespace and Line
Breaks............................................................................................................................ 6
Semicolons are
Optional..................................................................................................................................6
Case Sensitivity
................................................................................................................................................ 7
Comments in JavaScript
.................................................................................................................................. 7
3. JAVASCRIPT – Enabling
.............................................................................................................................9
JavaScript in Internet Explorer
........................................................................................................................ 9
JavaScript in Firefox
.........................................................................................................................................9
JavaScript in Chrome
.....................................................................................................................................10
JavaScript in Opera
........................................................................................................................................10
Warning for Non-JavaScript
Browsers...........................................................................................................10
4. JAVASCRIPT – Placement
........................................................................................................................12
JavaScript in <head>...</head>
Section.........................................................................................................12
JavaScript in <body>...</body>
Section......................................................................................................... 13
2
Bitwise Operators
.......................................................................................................................................... 28
Assignment
Operators................................................................................................................................... 31
Miscellaneous
Operators............................................................................................................................... 34
7. JAVASCRIPT – If-Else
...............................................................................................................................38
Flow Chart of if-
else....................................................................................................................................... 38
if Statement
................................................................................................................................................... 39
if...else Statement
......................................................................................................................................... 40
if...else if... Statement
................................................................................................................................... 41
8. JAVASCRIPT – Switch-Case
......................................................................................................................43
Flow Chart
..................................................................................................................................................... 43
9. JAVASCRIPT – While Loop
.......................................................................................................................47
The while Loop
.............................................................................................................................................. 47
The do...while Loop
.......................................................................................................................................49
10. JAVASCRIPT – For Loop
...........................................................................................................................52
The for Loop
.................................................................................................................................................. 52
11. JAVASCRIPT – For-in Loop
.......................................................................................................................55
12. JAVASCRIPT – Loop
Control.....................................................................................................................57
The break Statement
.....................................................................................................................................57
The continue Statement ................................................................................................................................
59
Using Labels to Control the
Flow................................................................................................................... 60
13. JAVASCRIPT –
Functions..........................................................................................................................64
Function Definition
........................................................................................................................................ 64
Calling a Function
.......................................................................................................................................... 65
Function Parameters
.....................................................................................................................................66
The return Statement
.................................................................................................................................... 67
Nested
Functions........................................................................................................................................... 68
Function () Constructor
.................................................................................................................................70
Function Literals
............................................................................................................................................71
3
16. JAVASCRIPT – Page Redirect
...................................................................................................................89
What is Page
Redirection?............................................................................................................................. 89
JavaScript Page Refresh
................................................................................................................................. 89
Auto
Refresh.................................................................................................................................................. 89
How Page Re-direction Works?
..................................................................................................................... 90
17. JAVASCRIPT – Dialog Box
........................................................................................................................94
Alert Dialog Box
.............................................................................................................................................94
Confirmation Dialog
Box................................................................................................................................ 95
Prompt Dialog Box
......................................................................................................................................... 96
18. JAVASCRIPT – Void
Keyword...................................................................................................................98
19. JAVASCRIPT – Page Printing
..................................................................................................................101
How to Print a Page?
................................................................................................................................... 102
PART 2: JAVASCRIPT OBJECTS.................................................................................................103
20. JAVASCRIPT – Objects
...........................................................................................................................105
Object Properties.........................................................................................................................................
105
Object Methods...........................................................................................................................................
105
User-Defined Objects
..................................................................................................................................106
Defining Methods for an Object ..................................................................................................................
108
The ‘with’ Keyword......................................................................................................................................
109
21. JAVASCRIPT – Number
..........................................................................................................................112
Number Properties ......................................................................................................................................
112
MAX_VALUE
................................................................................................................................................113
MIN_VALUE
................................................................................................................................................. 114
NaN..............................................................................................................................................................
115
NEGATIVE_INFINITY...................................................................................................................................
.. 117
POSITIVE_INFINITY
......................................................................................................................................118
Prototype.....................................................................................................................................................
119
constructor ..................................................................................................................................................
121
Number Methods ........................................................................................................................................
4
23. JAVASCRIPT –
String..............................................................................................................................137
String Properties..........................................................................................................................................
137
constructor ..................................................................................................................................................
137
Length..........................................................................................................................................................
138
Prototype.....................................................................................................................................................
139
String Methods ............................................................................................................................................
140
charAt()........................................................................................................................................................
142
charCodeAt
()............................................................................................................................................... 143
contact () .....................................................................................................................................................
144
indexOf () .....................................................................................................................................................
145
lastIndexOf ()
...............................................................................................................................................147
localeCompare ()
.........................................................................................................................................148
match () .......................................................................................................................................................
149
replace ()......................................................................................................................................................
150
Search
()....................................................................................................................................................... 153
slice ()
.......................................................................................................................................................... 154
split ()...........................................................................................................................................................
155
substr ()........................................................................................................................................................
156
substring ()...................................................................................................................................................
157
toLocaleLowerCase()
................................................................................................................................... 158
toLocaleUppereCase ()
................................................................................................................................159
toLowerCase
()............................................................................................................................................. 160
toString ().....................................................................................................................................................
161
toUpperCase ()
............................................................................................................................................ 162
valueOf () .....................................................................................................................................................
163
String HTML Wrappers
................................................................................................................................164
anchor() .......................................................................................................................................................
165
big()..............................................................................................................................................................
166
blink ()..........................................................................................................................................................
167
bold () ..........................................................................................................................................................
168
fixed ()..........................................................................................................................................................
168
forEach ()
.....................................................................................................................................................190
5
indexOf ()
..................................................................................................................................................... 192
join ()
...........................................................................................................................................................
195
lastIndexOf ()
...............................................................................................................................................196
map ()
..........................................................................................................................................................
199
pop ()
...........................................................................................................................................................
201
push
()..........................................................................................................................................................
202
reduce ()
...................................................................................................................................................... 204
reduceRight ()
.............................................................................................................................................. 207
reverse ()
..................................................................................................................................................... 211
shift ()
..........................................................................................................................................................
212
slice ()
..........................................................................................................................................................
213
some
().........................................................................................................................................................
214
sort ()
...........................................................................................................................................................
216
splice ()
........................................................................................................................................................ 217
toString
()..................................................................................................................................................... 219
unshift ()
......................................................................................................................................................220
25. JAVASCRIPT – Date
...............................................................................................................................222
Date Properties............................................................................................................................................
223
constructor ..................................................................................................................................................
223
Prototype.....................................................................................................................................................
224
Date Methods..............................................................................................................................................
226
Date()...........................................................................................................................................................
229
getDate()......................................................................................................................................................
229
getDay() .......................................................................................................................................................
230
getFullYear()
................................................................................................................................................231
getHours()....................................................................................................................................................
232
getMilliseconds() .........................................................................................................................................
233
setTime
()..................................................................................................................................................... 254
vi
setUTCDate ()
..............................................................................................................................................254
setUTCFullYear ()
.........................................................................................................................................255
setUTCHours ()
............................................................................................................................................257
setUTCMilliseconds ()
.................................................................................................................................. 258
setUTCMinutes
()......................................................................................................................................... 259
setUTC Month ()
..........................................................................................................................................260
setUTCSeconds
()......................................................................................................................................... 261
setYear ()
..................................................................................................................................................... 262
toDateString ()
............................................................................................................................................. 263
toGMTString ()
............................................................................................................................................. 264
toLocaleDateString
()................................................................................................................................... 265
toLocaleDateString
()................................................................................................................................... 266
toLocaleFormat ()
........................................................................................................................................266
toLocaleString ()
..........................................................................................................................................267
toLocaleTimeSring
().................................................................................................................................... 268
toSource ()
...................................................................................................................................................269
toString
()..................................................................................................................................................... 270
toTimeString
()............................................................................................................................................. 271
toUTCString ()
..............................................................................................................................................272
valeOf ()
.......................................................................................................................................................273
Date Static Methods
.................................................................................................................................... 274
Date.parse ( )
...............................................................................................................................................274
Date.UTC ( )
................................................................................................................................................. 275
26. JAVASCRIPT – Math
..............................................................................................................................277
Math Properties ..........................................................................................................................................
277
Math-E .........................................................................................................................................................
278
Math-LN2.....................................................................................................................................................
279
Math-LN10...................................................................................................................................................
279
Math-LOG2E ................................................................................................................................................
280
Math-LOG10E
.............................................................................................................................................. 281
Math-PI........................................................................................................................................................
vii
sin ( )
............................................................................................................................................................
305
sqrt ( )
..........................................................................................................................................................
306
tan ( )
...........................................................................................................................................................
307
toSource ( )
..................................................................................................................................................309
27. JAVASCRIPT – RegExp
...........................................................................................................................310
Brackets .......................................................................................................................................................
310
Quantifiers...................................................................................................................................................
311
Literal
Characters......................................................................................................................................... 312
Metacharacters ...........................................................................................................................................
313
Modifiers .....................................................................................................................................................
313
RegExp Properties
.......................................................................................................................................314
constructor ..................................................................................................................................................
314
global ...........................................................................................................................................................
315
ignoreCase
................................................................................................................................................... 316
lastIndex ......................................................................................................................................................
318
multiline.......................................................................................................................................................
319
source ..........................................................................................................................................................
320
RegExp
Methods.......................................................................................................................................... 321
exec ( )
......................................................................................................................................................... 322
test ( ) ..........................................................................................................................................................
323
toSource ( )
..................................................................................................................................................324
toString ( )....................................................................................................................................................
325
28. JAVASCRIPT –
DOM...............................................................................................................................327
The Legacy
DOM.......................................................................................................................................... 328
The W3C DOM
.............................................................................................................................................334
The IE 4
DOM............................................................................................................................................... 338
DOM Compatibility ......................................................................................................................................
342
PART 3: JAVASCRIPT ADVANCED ............................................................................................. 344
8
Checking for Plug-Ins
...................................................................................................................................366
Controlling Multimedia
............................................................................................................................... 367
33. JAVASCRIPT – Debugging
......................................................................................................................369
Error Messages in IE
....................................................................................................................................369
Error Messages in Firefox or Mozilla ...........................................................................................................
370
Error Notifications .......................................................................................................................................
371
How to Debug a Script .................................................................................................................................
371
Useful Tips for Developers ..........................................................................................................................
372
34. JAVASCRIPT – ImageMap
.....................................................................................................................374
35. JAVASCRIPT – Browsers
........................................................................................................................377
Navigator Properties ...................................................................................................................................
377
Navigator Methods......................................................................................................................................
378
Browser Detection.......................................................................................................................................
379
9
Part 1: JavaScript
Basics
10
WhatisJavaScript?
Javascript is a dynamic computer programming language. It is lightweight and most
commonly used as a part of web pages, whose implementations allow client-side
script to interact with the user and make dynamic pages. It is an interpreted
programming language with object-oriented capabilities.
JavaScript was first known as LiveScript, but Netscape changed its name to
JavaScript, possibly because of the excitement being generated by Java. JavaScript
made its first appearance in Netscape 2.0 in 1995 with the name LiveScript. The
general-purpose core of the language has been embedded in Netscape, Internet
Explorer, and other web browsers.
The ECMA-262 Specification defined a standard version of the core JavaScript
language.
JavaScript is a lightweight, interpreted programming language.
Designed for creating network-centric applications.
Complementary to and integrated with Java.
Complementary to and integrated with HTML.
Open and cross-platform.
Client-SideJavaScript
Client-side JavaScript is the most common form of the language. The script should
be included in or referenced by an HTML document for the code to be interpreted by
the browser.
It means that a web page need not be a static HTML, but can include programs that
interact with the user, control the browser, and dynamically create HTML content.
The JavaScript client-side mechanism provides many advantages over traditional CGI
server-side scripts. For example, you might use JavaScript to check if the user has
entered a valid e-mail address in a form field.
1.JAVASCRIPT – OVERVIEW
11
The JavaScript code is executed when the user submits the form, and only if all the
entries are valid, they would be submitted to the Web Server.
JavaScript can be used to trap user-initiated events such as button clicks, link
navigation, and other actions that the user initiates explicitly or implicitly.
AdvantagesofJavaScript
The merits of using JavaScript are:
Less server interaction: You can validate user input before sending the page
off to the server. This saves server traffic, which means less load on your
server.
Immediate feedback to the visitors: They don't have to wait for a page
reload to see if they have forgotten to enter something.
Increased interactivity: You can create interfaces that react when the user
hovers over them with a mouse or activates them via the keyboard.
Richer interfaces: You can use JavaScript to include such items as drag-and-
drop components and sliders to give a Rich Interface to your site visitors.
LimitationsofJavaScript
We cannot treat JavaScript as a full-fledged programming language. It lacks the
following important features:
Client-side JavaScript does not allow the reading or writing of files. This has
been kept for security reason.
JavaScript cannot be used for networking applications because there is no such
support available.
JavaScript doesn't have any multithreading or multiprocessor capabilities.
Once again, JavaScript is a lightweight, interpreted programming language that
allows you to build interactivity into otherwise static HTML pages.
JavaScript DevelopmentTools
One of major strengths of JavaScript is that it does not require expensive
development tools. You can start with a simple text editor such as Notepad. Since it
12
is an interpreted language inside the context of a web browser, you don't even need
to buy a compiler.
To make our life simpler, various vendors have come up with very nice JavaScript
editing tools. Some of them are listed here:
Microsoft FrontPage: Microsoft has developed a popular HTML editor called
FrontPage. FrontPage also provides web developers with a number of
JavaScript tools to assist in the creation of interactive websites.
Macromedia Dreamweaver MX: Macromedia Dreamweaver MX is a very
popular HTML and JavaScript editor in the professional web development
crowd. It provides several handy prebuilt JavaScript components, integrates
well with databases, and conforms to new standards such as XHTML and XML.
Macromedia HomeSite 5: HomeSite 5 is a well-liked HTML and JavaScript
editor from Macromedia that can be used to manage personal websites
effectively.
WhereisJavaScriptToday?
The ECMAScript Edition 5 standard will be the first update to be released in over four
years. JavaScript 2.0 conforms to Edition 5 of the ECMAScript standard, and the
difference between the two is extremely minor.
The specification for JavaScript 2.0 can be found on the following site:
http://www.ecmascript.org/
Today, Netscape's JavaScript and Microsoft's JScript conform to the ECMAScript
standard, although both the languages still support the features that are not a part
of the standard.
13
JavaScript can be implemented using JavaScript statements that are placed within
the <script>... </script> HTML tags in a web page.
You can place the <script> tags, containing your JavaScript, anywhere within you
web page, but it is normally recommended that you should keep it within the <head>
tags.
The <script> tag alerts the browser program to start interpreting all the text between
these tags as a script. A simple syntax of your JavaScript will appear as follows.
<script . . . >
JavaScript code
</script>
The script tag takes two important attributes:
Language: This attribute specifies what scripting language you are using.
Typically, its value will be javascript. Although recent versions of HTML (and
XHTML, its successor) have phased out the use of this attribute.
Type: This attribute is what is now recommended to indicate the scripting
language in use and its value should be set to "text/javascript".
So your JavaScript syntax will look as follows.
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
JavaScript code
</script>
YourFirstJavaScriptCode
Let us take a sample example to print out "Hello World". We added an optional HTML
comment that surrounds our JavaScript code. This is to save our code from a browser
that does not support JavaScript. The comment ends with a "//-->". Here "//"
signifies a comment in JavaScript, so we add that to prevent a browser from reading
2.JAVASCRIPT –SYNTAX
14
the end of the HTML comment as a piece of JavaScript code. Next, we call a
function document.write which writes a string into our HTML document.
This function can be used to write text, HTML, or both. Take a look at the following
code.
15
<html>
<body>
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
<!--
document.write ("Hello World!")
//-->
</script>
</body>
</html>
This code will produce the following result:
Hello World!
WhitespaceandLineBreaks
JavaScript ignores spaces, tabs, and newlines that appear in JavaScript programs.
You can use spaces, tabs, and newlines freely in your program and you are free to
format and indent your programs in a neat and consistent way that makes the code
easy to read and understand.
SemicolonsareOptional
Simple statements in JavaScript are generally followed by a semicolon character, just
as they are in C, C++, and Java. JavaScript, however, allows you to omit this
semicolon if each of your statements are placed on a separate line. For example, the
following code could be written without semicolons.
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
<!--
var1 = 10
var2 = 20
//-->
</script>
16
But when formatted in a single line as follows, you must use semicolons:
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
<!--
var1 = 10; var2 =20;
//-->
</script>
Note: It is a good programming practice to use semicolons.
CaseSensitivity
JavaScript is a case-sensitive language. This means that the language keywords,
variables, function names, and any other identifiers must always be typed with a
consistent capitalization of letters.
So the identifiers Time and TIME will convey different meanings in JavaScript.
NOTE: Care should be taken while writing variable and function names in JavaScript.
CommentsinJavaScript
JavaScript supports both C-style and C++-style comments. Thus:
Any text between a // and the end of a line is treated as a comment and is
ignored by JavaScript.
Any text between the characters /* and */ is treated as a comment. This may
span multiple lines.
JavaScript also recognizes the HTML comment opening sequence <!--.
JavaScript treats this as a single-line comment, just as it does the // comment.
The HTML comment closing sequence --> is not recognized by JavaScript so it
should be written as //-->.
Example
The following example shows how to use comments in JavaScript.
17
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
<!--
// This i s a comment. It i s similar to comments in C++
/*
* This i s a multiline comment in JavaScript
* It i s very similar to comments in C Programming
*/
//-->
</script>
All the modern browsers come with built-in support for JavaScript. Frequently, you
may need to enable or disable this support manually. This chapter explains the
procedure of enabling and disabling JavaScript support in your browsers: Internet
Explorer, Firefox, chrome, and Opera.
JavaScriptinInternetExplorer
Here are the steps to turn on or turn off JavaScript in Internet Explorer:
Follow Tools -> Internet Options from the menu.
Select Security tab from the dialog box.
Click the Custom Level button.
Scroll down till you find the Scripting option.
Select Enable radio button under Active scripting.
Finally click OK and come out.
To disable JavaScript support in your Internet Explorer, you need to select Disable
radio button under Active scripting.
JavaScriptinFirefox
Here are the steps to turn on or turn off JavaScript in Firefox:
Open a new tab -> type about: config in the address bar.
Then you will find the warning dialog. Select I’ll be careful, I promise!
Then you will find the list of configure options in the browser.
In the search bar, type javascript.enabled.
There you will find the option to enable or disable javascript by right-clicking
on the value of that option -> select toggle.
If javascript.enabled is true; it converts to false upon clicking toogle. If javascript is
disabled; it gets enabled upon clicking toggle.
3.JAVASCRIPT –ENABLING
18
JavaScriptinChrome
Here are the steps to turn on or turn off JavaScript in Chrome:
Click the Chrome menu at the top right hand corner of your browser.
Select Settings.
Click Show advanced settings at the end of the page.
Under the Privacy section, click the Content settings button.
In the "Javascript" section, select "Do not allow any site to run JavaScript" or
"Allow all sites to run JavaScript (recommended)".
JavaScriptinOpera
Here are the steps to turn on or turn off JavaScript in Opera:
Follow Tools-> Preferences from the menu.
Select Advanced option from the dialog box.
Select Content from the listed items.
Select Enable JavaScript checkbox.
Finally click OK and come out.
To disable JavaScript support in Opera, you should not select the Enable
JavaScript checkbox.
WarningforNon-JavaScriptBrowsers
If you have to do something important using JavaScript, then you can display a
warning message to the user using <noscript> tags.
You can add a noscript block immediately after the script block as follows:
19
<html>
<body>
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
<!--
document.write ("Hello World!")
//-->
</script>
<noscript>
Sorry...JavaScript i s needed to go ahead.
</noscript>
</body>
</html>
20
Now, if the user's browser does not support JavaScript or JavaScript is not enabled,
then the message from </noscript> will be displayed on the screen.
There is a flexibility given to include JavaScript code anywhere in an HTML document.
However the most preferred ways to include JavaScript in an HTML file are as follows:
Script in <head>...</head> section.
Script in <body>...</body> section.
Script in <body>...</body> and <head>...</head> sections.
Script in an external file and then include in <head>...</head> section.
In the following section, we will see how we can place JavaScript in an HTML file in
different ways.
JavaScriptin<head>...</head>Section
If you want to have a script run on some event, such as when a user clicks
somewhere, then you will place that script in the head as follows.
<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
function sayHello() {
alert("Hello World")
}
//-->
</script>
</head>
<body>
Click here f or the result
<input type="button" onclick="sayHello()" value="Say Hello" />
4.JAVASCRIPT – PLACEMENT
21
</body>
</html>
22
This code will produce the following results:
Click here f or the result
JavaScriptin<body>...</body>Section
If you need a script to run as the page loads so that the script generates content in
the page, then the script goes in the <body> portion of the document. In this case,
you would not have any function defined using JavaScript. Take a look at the following
code.
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
document.write("Hello World")
//-->
</script>
<p>This i s web page body </p>
</body>
</html>
This code will produce the following results:
Hello World
Say Hello
This i s web page body
23
JavaScriptin<body>and<head>Sections
You can put your JavaScript code in <head> and <body> section altogether as
follows.
<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
function sayHello() {
alert("Hello World")
}
//-->
</script>
</head>
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
document.write("Hello World")
//-->
</script>
<input type="button" onclick="sayHello()" value="Say Hello" />
</body>
</html>
This code will produce the following result.
HelloWorld
Say Hello
JavaScriptinExternalFile
As you begin to work more extensively with JavaScript, you will be likely to find that
there are cases where you are reusing identical JavaScript code on multiple pages of
a site.
You are not restricted to be maintaining identical code in multiple HTML files. The
script tag provides a mechanism to allow you to store JavaScript in an external file
and then include it into your HTML files.
Here is an example to show how you can include an external JavaScript file in your
HTML code using script tag and its src attribute.
24
<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript" src="filename.js" ></script>
</head>
<body>
. . . . . . .
</body>
</html>
To use JavaScript from an external file source, you need to write all your JavaScript
source code in a simple text file with the extension ".js" and then include that file as
shown above.
For example, you can keep the following content in filename.js file and then you
can use sayHello function in your HTML file after including the filename.js file.
function sayHello() {
alert("Hello World")
}
JavaScriptDatatypes
One of the most fundamental characteristics of a programming language is the set
of data types it supports. These are the type of values that can be represented and
manipulated in a programming language.
JavaScript allows you to work with three primitive data types:
Numbers, e.g., 123, 120.50 etc.
Strings of text, e.g. "This text string" etc.
Boolean, e.g. true or false.
JavaScript also defines two trivial data types, null and undefined, each of which
defines only a single value. In addition to these primitive data types, JavaScript
supports a composite data type known as object. We will cover objects in detail in a
separate chapter.
Note: Java does not make a distinction between integer values and floating-point
values. All numbers in JavaScript are represented as floating-point values. JavaScript
represents numbers using the 64-bit floating-point format defined by the IEEE 754
standard.
JavaScriptVariables
Like many other programming languages, JavaScript has variables. Variables can be
thought of as named containers. You can place data into these containers and then
refer to the data simply by naming the container.
Before you use a variable in a JavaScript program, you must declare it. Variables are
declared with the var keyword as follows.
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
var money;
var name;
5.JAVASCRIPT – VARIABLES
25
//-->
</script>
26
You can also declare multiple variables with the same var keyword as follows:
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
var money, name;
//-->
</script>
Storing a value in a variable is called variable initialization. You can do variable
initialization at the time of variable creation or at a later point in time when you need
that variable.
For instance, you might create a variable named money and assign the value
2000.50 to it later. For another variable, you can assign a value at the time of
initialization as follows.
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
var name = " A l i " ;
var money;
money = 2000.50;
//-->
</script>
Note: Use the var keyword only for declaration or initialization, once for the life of
any variable name in a document. You should not re-declare same variable twice.
JavaScript is untyped language. This means that a JavaScript variable can hold a
value of any data type. Unlike many other languages, you don't have to tell JavaScript
during variable declaration what type of value the variable will hold. The value type
of a variable can change during the execution of a program and JavaScript takes care
of it automatically.
JavaScriptVariableScope
The scope of a variable is the region of your program in which it is defined. JavaScript
variables have only two scopes.
Global Variables: A global variable has global scope which means it can be
defined anywhere in your JavaScript code.
Local Variables: A local variable will be visible onlywithin a function where it
is defined. Function parameters are always local to that function.
Within the body of a function, a local variable takes precedence over a global variable
with the same name. If you declare a local variable or function parameter with the
same name as a global variable, you effectively hide the global variable. Take a look
into the following example.
27
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
var myVar = "global"; // Declare a global variable
function checkscope( ) {
var myVar = " l ocal"; // Declare a local variable
document.write(myVar);
}
//-->
</script>
It will produce the following result:
Local
JavaScriptVariable Names
While naming your variables in JavaScript, keep the following rules in mind.
You should not use any of the JavaScript reserved keywords as a variable
name. These keywords are mentioned in the next section. For example, break
or boolean variable names are not valid.
JavaScript variable names should not start with a numeral (0-9). They must
begin with a letter or an underscore character. For example, 123test is an
invalid variable name but _123test is a valid one.
JavaScript variable names are case-sensitive. For example, Name and name
are two different variables.
JavaScript ReservedWords
A list of all the reserved words in JavaScript are given in the following table. They
cannot be used as JavaScript variables, functions, methods, loop labels, or any object
names.
28
abstract
boolean
break
byte
case
catch
char
class
const
continue
debugger
default
delete
do
double
else
enum
export
extends
false
final
finally
float
for
function
goto
if
implements
import
in
Instanceof
int
interface
long
native
new
null
package
private
protected
public
return
short
static
super
switch
synchronized
this
throw
throws
transient
true
try
typeof
var
void
volatile
while
with
WhatisanOperator?
Let us take a simple expression 4 + 5 is equal to 9. Here 4 and 5 are called
operands and ‘+’ is called the operator. JavaScript supports the following types of
operators.
Arithmetic Operators
Comparison Operators
Logical (or Relational) Operators
Assignment Operators
Conditional (or ternary) Operators
Let’s have a look at all the operators one by one.
ArithmeticOperators
JavaScript supports the following arithmetic operators:
Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20, then:
S. No. Operator and Description
1
+
(Addition)
Adds
two operands
Ex:
A + B will give 30
2
-
(Subtraction)
Subtracts the
second operand from the first
Ex:
A - B will give -10
6.JAVASCRIPT – OPERATORS
29
3
*
(Multiplication)
Multiply
both operands
Ex:
A * B will give 200
4
/
(Division)
Divide the numerator by the
denominator
Ex:
B / A will give 2
5
%
(Modulus)
Outputs the remainder
of an integer division
Ex:
B % A will give 0
6
++
(Increment)
Increases
an integer value by one
Ex:
A++ will give 11
7
--
(Decrement)
Decreases an
integer value by one
Ex:
A-- will give 9
30
Note: Addition operator (+) works for Numeric as well as Strings. e.g. "a" + 10 will
give "a10".
Example
The following code shows how to use arithmetic operators in JavaScript.
<html>
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
var a = 33;
var b = 10; var
c ="Test";
var linebreak = "<br / > " ;
document.write("a + b = " ) ;
result = a + b;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("a - b = " ) ;
result = a - b;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("a / b = " ) ;
result = a / b;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("a % b = " ) ;
result = a % b;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("a + b + c = " ) ;
result = a + b + c;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
31
a = a++;
document.write("a++ = " ) ;
result = a++;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
b = b --;
document.write("b-- = " ) ;
result = b--;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
//-->
</script>
<p>Set the variables to different values and then try...</p>
</body>
</html>
32
Output
a + b = 43 a
- b = 23 a /
b = 3.3 a %
b = 3
a + b + c = 43Test
a++ = 33
b-- = 10
Set the variables to different values and then t r y . . .
ComparisonOperators
JavaScript supports the following comparison operators:
Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20, then:
33
S.No Operator and Description
1
==
(Equal)
Checks
if the value of two operands are equal or not, if yes, then
the condition
becomes true.
Ex:
(A == B) is not true.
2
!=
(Not Equal)
Checks
if the value of two operands are equal or not, if the values
are not equal, then
the condition becomes true.
Ex:
(A != B) is true.
3
>
(Greater than)
Checks
if the value of the left operand is greater than the value
of
the right operand,
if yes, then the condition becomes true.
Ex:
(A > B) is not true.
4
<
(Less than)
Checks
if the value of the left operand is less than the value of
the
right operand,
if yes, then the condition becomes true.
Ex:
(A < B) is true.
5
>=
(Greater than or Equal to)
Checks
if the value of the left operand is greater than or equal
to
the
value of the right operand, if yes, then the condition
becomes
true
.
Ex
: (A >= B) is not true.
6
<=
(Less than or Equal to)
Checks
if the value of the left operand is less than or equal to the
value
of the right operand, if yes, then the condition becomes
true.
Ex:
(A <= B) is true.
34
Example
The following code shows how to use comparison operators in JavaScript.
<html>
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
var a = 10;
var b = 20;
var linebreak = "<br / > " ;
document.write("(a == b) => " ) ;
result = (a == b) ;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("(a < b) => " ) ;
result = (a < b ) ;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("(a > b) => " ) ;
result = (a > b ) ;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("(a != b) => " ) ;
result = (a != b) ;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("(a >= b) => " ) ;
result = (a >= b) ;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("(a <= b) => " ) ;
result = (a <= b) ;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
//-->
</script>
<p>Set the variables to different values and different operators and then
tr y...</p>
</body>
</html>
Output
(a == b) => false
(a < b) => true (a
> b) => false (a
!= b) => true (a
>= b) => false
35
(a <= b) => true
Set the variables to different values and different operators and then
t r y . . .
LogicalOperators
JavaScript supports the following logical operators:
Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20, then:
36
S.No
Operator and Description
1
&&
(Logical AND)
If both
the operands are non-zero, then the condition becomes true.
Ex:
(A && B) is true.
2
||
(Logical OR)
If
any of the two operands are non-zero, then the condition becomes
true.
Ex:
(A || B) is true.
3
!
(Logical NOT)
Reverses the logical state
of its operand. If a condition is true, then the
Logical NOT
operator will make it false.
Ex:
! (A && B) is false.
Example
Try the following code to learn how to implement Logical Operators in JavaScript.
37
<html>
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
var a = true;
var b = false;
var linebreak = "<br / > " ;
document.write("(a && b) => " ) ;
result = (a && b) ;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("(a || b) => " ) ;
result = (a || b) ;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("!(a && b) => " ) ;
result = (! ( a && b ) ) ;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
//-->
</script>
<p>Set the variables to different values and different operators and then
tr y...</p>
</body>
</html>
38
Output
(a && b) => false
(a || b) => true
!( a && b) => true
Set the variables to different values and different operators and then
t r y . . .
BitwiseOperators
JavaScript supports the following bitwise operators:
Assume variable A holds 2 and variable B holds 3, then:
S.No
Operator and Description
1
&
(Bitwise AND)
It
performs a Boolean AND operation on each bit of its integer
arguments.
Ex:
(A & B) is 2.
2
|
(BitWise OR)
It
performs a Boolean OR operation on each bit of its integer arguments.
Ex:
(A | B) is 3.
3
^
(Bitwise XOR)
It
performs a Boolean exclusive OR operation on each bit of its
integer
arguments
. Exclusive OR means that either operand one is true or
operand
two
is true, but not both.
Ex
: (A ^ B) is 1.
4
~
(Bitwise Not)
It
is a unary operator and operates by reversing all the bits in the
operand.
Ex:
(~B) is -4.
5
<<
(Left Shift)
It
moves all the bits in its first operand to the left by the number of
places
specified
in the second operand. New bits are filled with zeros. Shifting
a
value
left by one position is equivalent to multiplying it by 2, shifting
two
positions
is equivalent to multiplying by 4, and so on.
Ex
: (A << 1) is 4.
6
>>
(Right Shift)
Binary
Right Shift Operator. The left operand’s value is moved right by
the
number
of bits specified by the right operand.
Ex:
(A >> 1) is 1.
7
>>> (Right shift with
Zero)
This
operator is just like the >> operator, except that the bits shifted
in
on
the left are always zero.
Ex:
(A >>> 1) is 1.
39
Example
Try the following code to implement Bitwise operator in JavaScript.
<html>
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
var a = 2;
var b = 3;
// Bit presentation 10
// Bit presentation 11
var linebreak = "<br / > " ;
document.write("(a & b) => " ) ;
result = (a & b) ;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("(a | b) => " ) ;
result = (a | b) ;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("(a ^ b) => " ) ;
result = (a ^ b) ;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("(~b) => " ) ;
result = (~b);
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("(a << b) => " ) ;
result = (a << b);
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
40
document.write("(a >> b) => " ) ;
result = (a >> b) ;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
//-->
</script>
<p>Set the variables to different values and different operators and then
tr y...</p>
</body>
</html>
41
Output
(a & b) => 2
(a | b) => 3
(a ^ b) => 1
(~b) => -4
(a << b) => 16
(a >> b) => 0
Set the variables to different values and different operators and then
t r y . . .
AssignmentOperators
JavaScript supports the following assignment operators:
S.No
Operator and Description
1
=
(Simple Assignment )
Assigns
values from the right side operand to the left side operand
Ex:
C = A + B will assign the value of A + B into C
2
+=
(Add and Assignment)
It
adds the right operand to the left operand and assigns the result to
the
left
operand.
Ex:
C += A is equivalent to C = C + A
3
-
= (Subtract and Assignment)
It
subtracts the right operand from the left operand and assigns the
result
to the left
operand.
Ex:
C -= A is equivalent to C = C - A
4
*=
(Multiply and Assignment)
It
multiplies the right operand with the left operand and assigns the
result
to the left
operand.
Ex:
C *= A is equivalent to C = C * A
5
/= (Divide and
Assignment)
It
divides the left operand with the right operand and assigns the result
to
the left
operand.
Ex:
C /= A is equivalent to C = C / A
6
%=
(Modules and Assignment)
It
takes modulus using two operands and assigns the result to the left
operand.
Ex:
C %= A is equivalent to C = C % A
42
Note: Same logic applies to Bitwise operators, so they will become <<=, >>=, >>=,
&=, |= and ^=.
Example
Try the following code to implement assignment operator in JavaScript.
<html>
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
var a = 33;
var b = 10;
var linebreak = "<br / > " ;
document.write("Value of a => (a = b) => " ) ;
result = (a = b);
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("Value of a => (a += b) => " ) ;
result = (a += b);
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("Value of a => (a -= b) => " ) ;
result = (a -= b);
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
b) => ");
document.write("Value of a => (a *=
result = (a *= b ) ;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
43
document.write("Value of a => (a /= b) => " ) ;
result = (a /= b) ;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write("Value of a => (a %= b) => " ) ;
result = (a %= b ) ;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
//-->
</script>
<p>Set the variables to different values and different operators and then
tr y...</p>
</body>
</html>
44
Output
Value of a => (a = b) => 10
Value of a => (a += b) => 20
Value of a => (a -= b) => 10
Value of a => (a *= b) => 100
Value of a => (a /= b) => 10
Value of a => (a %= b) => 0
Set the variables to different values and different operators and then
t r y . . .
MiscellaneousOperators
We will discuss two operators here that are quite useful in JavaScript: the
conditional operator (? :) and the typeof operator.
ConditionalOperator(?:)
The conditional operator first evaluates an expression for a true or false value and
then executes one of the two given statements depending upon the result of the
evaluation.
45
S.No
Operator and Description
1
? :
(Conditional )
If
Condition is true? Then value X : Otherwise value Y
Example
Try the following code to understand how the Conditional Operator works in
JavaScript.
<html>
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
var a = 10;
var b = 20;
var linebreak = "<br / > " ;
document.write ( "( (a > b) ? 100 : 200) => " ) ;
result = (a > b) ? 100 : 200;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
document.write ( "( (a < b) ? 100 : 200) => ");
result = (a < b) ? 100 : 200;
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
//-->
</script>
<p>Set the variables to different values and different operators and then
tr y...</p>
</body>
</html>
46
Output
((a > b) ? 100 : 200) => 200
((a < b) ? 100 : 200) => 100
Set the variables to different values and different operators and then
t r y . . .
typeofOperator
The typeof operator is a unary operator that is placed before its single operand,
which can be of any type. Its value is a string indicating the data type of the operand.
The typeof operator evaluates to "number", "string", or "boolean" if its operand is a
number, string, or boolean value and returns true or false based on the evaluation.
Here is a list of the return values for the typeof Operator.
Type String Returned by typeof
Number
"number"
String
"string"
Boolean
"boolean"
Object
"object"
Function
"function"
Undefined
"undefined"
Null
"object"
47
Example
The following code shows how to implement typeof operator.
<html>
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
var a = 10;
var b = "String";
var linebreak = "<br / > " ;
result = (typeof b == "str ing" ? "B i s String" : "B i s Numeric");
document.write("Result => ");
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
result = (typeof a == "str ing" ? "A i s String" : "A i s Numeric");
document.write("Result => ");
document.write(result);
document.write(linebreak);
//-->
</script>
<p>Set the variables to different values and dif f erent operators and then
tr y...</p>
</body>
</html>
48
Output
Result => B i s String
Result => A is Numeric
Set the variables to different values and different operators and then
t r y . . .
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